Page 38 of The Night Wolf
When Sean realized he was hugging an Alpha—hisAlpha—he tried to step back, but Gareth held fast.
“Stop. You said you trust me, so I need you to keep doing this. Hug me, Sean. We can share warmth, and you can start getting used to the feelings, because I guarantee you, Dani will want to touch you. So will Caleb. In fact, when you’re out in town, a lot of people will want to hug you. We’re a huggy bunch, you know.”
Sean sighed and melted into the embrace. Gareth was right, Sean did need this. A balm to his battered heart and spirit. Even his wolf sat up and paid attention. If Sean didn’t know better, he would swear it was smiling.
Chapter Eleven
FOUR DAYSlater, Gareth sat in his office, preparing to go through the applications he’d rejected previously. He felt no small amount of shame for his reasons in turning these people down. The ones who had no marketable skills had been dismissed without further review. He never bothered to look deeper than the surface. In his quest to be the best pack, he’d forgotten the things that made one great—commitment, loyalty, love. He took the printed copies from a file and laid them out on his desk.
One by one he read through the applicants’ histories. Jenna Kaminski was a waitress in her old pack. Gareth had decided they didn’t need anyone, so he put her in the rejected pile. Today he would work on correcting his mistakes. He reached for his phone and dialed Wolfgang.
“Good morning, Alpha. What can I do for you today?”
“I’ve got a woman who wants to join our pack. She’s a server. Do you have openings?”
“Do I! We had two human servers quit in order to go back to school. They were excellent, and it hurt for them to leave. We most certainly need the staffing.”
A realization flashed through Gareth’s mind. He’d been allowing shops in town to hire humans instead of finding wolves who could use the job. Yet another gut-punch for him. He had the opportunity to make the lives of wolves all over better, simply by allowing them to become part of the pack.
“Thank you, Wolfgang. I’ll contact her right away.”
“Alpha?”
“Yes?”
Wolfgang took a deep breath. “You know, we could use servers, cooks, dishwashers, and bus help. The wolves who live and work in Lydon tend to stay on the job longer than humans who need to commute here. We get a lot of visitor traffic into town from neighboring areas, but our remoteness makes it hard for those who need to drive to work here. I… I think it would be helpful if we took in more people. I know at least ten shops that could use the help.”
Gareth bit back a sharp retort. “Why didn’t you ever mention this to me?”
“Because you’re the Alpha!”
Of course. Pack politics were such that the Alpha was always right. That was the same bullshit that got Sean where he was today. It was wrong to question or contradict the Alpha. Gareth hated that his pack held the same opinions. That would have to change.
“No. If you have ideas, you will present them to me or Lyram. There will be no hesitation. I’m forming a council to help me as we open our area to more wolves. They will contact the pack members for their input. No suggestion—at least not a serious one—will be dismissed. Even if I’m against it, the council will have a voice. I am not perfect. The fact that I had my head up my ass about who to admit proves that.” He softened his tone. “Please, Wolfgang, never be afraid to talk to me. I don’t want there to be a division between us. I might be the Alpha, but my job is to serve my pack. I can’t do that if no one talks to me.”
“Then maybe we should….”
“Go on.”
“Why not take in any wolf that petitions to join? Those who might not have marketable skills can be trained. Some people, like say authors or musicians, make people happy with their works. Just because they can’t be the pretty face in the public eye doesn’t make them any less valuable to a well-rounded town. What person wouldn’t like to go to the bookstore and find something by a local artist next to a John Grisham novel?”
“That…. That’s brilliant. We could promote them, help them to get their stories or paintings out, have a website.” Gareth’s mind was reeling at the new possibilities. “Wolfgang, do you have any other thoughts or ideas?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I do. Lydon doesn’t have a bed-and-breakfast or a motel. We could get more foot traffic in town, work on making this a tourist destination instead of simply waiting for people in the neighboring areas to visit.”
More thoughts ping-ponged in Gareth’s head. Lydon was thousands of acres of pristine wilderness. Though he wouldn’t allow hunting in the area, he could…. He was sure he’d seen….
“Alpha?”
“One second, please.”
He grabbed the folders and thumbed through them until he found the one he wanted. Deke Simmons was twenty-two last year. He’d majored in forestry conservation, and one of the jobs he’d held was taking people camping or rafting. He would be perfect to head up a program like that for Lydon.
“Damn. Wolfie, you just gave me some things to think about. I wonder, would you consider being part of my council? You have the ear of the business community, so your input would be invaluable.”
“Really? I’d be honored.”
“Excellent. I’ll send you the details.” Then he realized he hadn’t even started putting them together. “As soon as I figure them out.”
